Sports company PUMA’s General Counsel of Intellectual Property Neil Narriman (47) has been elected President of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI). He will use this mandate to increase the visibility of the European sporting industry, steer the digital transformation and push for tougher action by regulators and governments on counterfeit products.
Narriman, who joined PUMA in 2006 and has headed the company’s intellectual property department since 2012, aims to further the sporting industry’s standing with European lawmakers and regulators, to show how the sector, with 1,800 companies and annual revenues of 81.5 billion euros, is an important pillar of the European economy.
“My goal is to make the sporting goods industry more visible on the political stage, not only in Europe but worldwide, in order to get the necessary support for the future challenges and opportunities,” Neil Narriman said.
The digital transformation will be crucial in developing a successful future for the industry, and retailers, brands, logistics providers and law makers will need to work hand in hand to create a legal framework in which business can thrive.
Effective action against counterfeiting, which has a severe impact on revenues while putting consumers and the environment at risk, is also an important topic on the agenda of Narriman’s presidency, which has started in December 2019 and is set for a three-year term.
